Coal chute



Wully l 1924.

1,499,469 J; E. MCMINN COAL CHUTE Filed Sent. 28 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet ll.Wully l R924.

J. E. MCMINN COAL CHUTE Filed sent. 2a.

1925 2 Sheets-Sheei 2 Patented July l, 1924.,

JOHN E. MCMINN, 0F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR, T0 PEERLESSMANUFACTUR- ING- COMPANY, 0F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A. CORIPORATIGN OFKENTUCKY. l

GOAL CHUTE.

Application filed September 28, 1923. Serial 110,665,484.

T o all whom t may concer/n:

Be it lmown that I, JOHN E. MCMINN, a citizen of the United States,residing at- Louisville, in the county of `Jefferson and State ofKentucky, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in CoalChutes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My present invention relates to improvements in that class of devicesknown as coal chutes that are designed to be set into a foundation orother wall of a building and through which coal or other material may bepassed into the building, as into the basement or coal room.

The general objectsof the invention are to provide a comparativelysimple and inexpensive device of the aforesaid character that presents aneat appearance when built into a wall, is very substantial and durable,and is particularly convenient of operation when it is desired to openthe chute for the reception of material, or close it after the materialhas been discharged through the chute.

Further objects are to provide a chute of the class referred to that isyequipped with a door having a pane of glass or other transparent ortranslucent material so that light ymay be admitted through thechutewhen the door is closed, and which door is adaptn .ed to beretracted into the chute in such a position that the pane is not liable'to become broken through being struck by material passed through thechute; to provide latch mechanism for locking thedoor in closedpositionfrom inside and which is arranged to be released from a distant pointwhen it is desired to open the door; to so balance the door that uponthe release of the latchy the door will swing aj ar so that a person lonthe outside of the building may move the ,door to its full openposition; to provide, in a device ofthe character referred to, a chuteextension or hopper that is movably connected to the chute in such a waythat it kmay be drawn out of the chute for use and held there bysuitable means or released ,and moved into the chute when not in use; toprovide a mounting for said chute-extension or .hopper involvinga partthat is engaged by thedoor as the door lapproaches closed position. andthrough the intervention of ,which the "door when closed returns ythechute extension or hopper toits fully retracted or normalpositionwithinlthe chute.

The objects above set" forth, lwith others hereinafter appearing, areatta-inedin the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhereinlFig. lis afrontpelevation; Fig. 2 a rear elevation and Fig. 3.an end elevation of my improved chute; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectionthrough the chute on the line 4-4- of Fig. 2, looking in the'directionof the arrows; and Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the doorof ,the chute open vand the chute extension` or hopper extended inreceiving position.

The chute proper is in the nature of a box like casing made up ofintegral top and end walls 1 and 2, respectively', and ai bottom wall 3that is provided with flanges llat its ends which, 4as shown in Fig. 2,overlap the outer sides of the lower edges of the Aend walls 2 and aresecured thereto by suitable means. Applied to the front of thisstructure is an open rectangular "frame 6 of neat design and shown ashaving a peripheral flange 7. A lip 8 projects 'from the inner or rearside of the frame adjacent the edge of its opening, and the front edgesof the top wall 1, end walls 2, and bottom wall 3 are secured toenlargements or bosses 9 of the lip by bolts 10, or their equivalents.

Extending along the bottom side and each end of the frame are shoulders12 which correspond to thestops iii-ordinary door structures, and forthat reason I shall refer to said parts hereinafter as stops. The topends of the end stops 12 are enlarged somewhat and extended inwardly, asbest seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the enlargement of one of the stops beingrevealed in the former view where the door is broken away. Guides 13,which in the present instance are in the nature of angle bars, extendhorizontally along the end walls 2 and may be secured to said walls byany suitable means; and the top surfaces of the guides 13 aresubstantially ,100

flush with the upper ends of the stops 12. Directly in front of theguides 13, the front frame 6 `is provided with hollow enlargementsproviding pockets 15 that open outside the frame through the sides oftheen- 2105 largements, for a purpose whichshall presently appear.

The door is designated 18` and in tliepresent embodiment itv has anopeningflS that is closed by a glasspane QGVheldY inplacejby :7,110

v hinge like connection between the door and frame, andthe door isadapted to be swung from a vertical to a horizontal position upon`thetr'unnions When in thel latter position,

itlm'ay be slid rearwardly along the guides 13 into theposition shown inFig. 5 where it will be. out of the way and protected against breakageof the pane 2O when coal or" other material is passed through thechute.v j

Pivoted upon a boltor pintle 26, that is `.supported by and between lugs27 which project rearwardly from the lower edge of the door,-is a latchplate 28 having a nose 29`that, is arranged to engage over a keeper 30shown as formed integral with the frame A6. ,A flexible element or chain32 has one of .its ends connected to the latch plate 28 l and is ledtherefrom, through a guide 33 ,atthe t'op of the door and an eye 34 thatis ,i carried by the top wall 1 near its rear edge,

to a point within the building where it may be conveniently pulled forthe purpose of releasing the latch. The guide 33 is shown as formed by apin or bolt 35 that extends through spaced lugs 36 which projectinwardly andupwardly from the top edge of the door. Y

, 7 To facilitate dumping or shoveling coal or other material throughthe chute, I proy videa chute extension or hopper 40 which is `swung atits forward edge from the frame 6 throughlinks 41. The lower ends of the4rlinks are pivotally connected, through rivets i42er the like, to theAend walls of the hopper and the. upper ends of the links are similarlyconnected, through bolts 43 or the like,

j. to lugs 44which extend inwardly from the l stops 12. Abutments 45 areapplied to the .bottom ofthe hopper for engagement over n the bottomdoor stop to hold the hopper in lextendedposition, as illustrated inFig. 5.

Vllithmy improved chute constructed and installed asdeS'Cribed, when itis desired to `Open the chute the flexible element` or chain ,32 is.pulled to release the latch plate 28 Y from the keeper 30 whereupon thedoor, by reason of, the manner in which it is balvanced, and the furtherfact that it is forced .outwardly somewhat by the weight of the.hopperAQ vtransmitted theretolthrough the links 41, swings. to thedotted line position shown in Fig. 4. The door may then be swung to ahorizontal position and slid in along, the guides 13 to a position shownin y5 ,after` which the hopper may be withfpfflra'wn from thechute andheld in extended position'by the abutments 45, as above explained. Afterthe coal or other material has been passed through the chute, theabutments 45 may be released from the stop 12, as by striking the hopperfrom underneath with a shovel and the hopper, pushed back into the chuteand the door 18 withdrawn from Ithe guides 13 to lodge the pintles 24within the pockets 15 after which the door may be allowed to swingdownwardly to closed position, and upon its being fully closed the nose29 of the latch plate 28 will reengage the keeper 30 and retain the doorin closed position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: v

1.- In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chute,a door which when in a vertical position is arranged to close the chute,connections between the door and chute permitting the door to be swungfrom a vertical to a horizontal position and then slid into the chute, alatch carried by the edge of the door for locking engagement with a partof the chute when the door is in closed position, and a flexible elementhave ing connection with the latch and extending through suitable guidesto a remote point from which the latch may be released by a pull uponthe flexible clement.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chute, adoor which when in a vertical position is arranged to close the chute,connections between the door and chute permitting the door to be swungfrom a vertical to a horizontal position and then slid into the chute, alatch carried by the edge of the door for locking engagement with a partof the chute when the door is in closed position, and a iexible elementhaving connection with the latch and extending through a guide on theIdoor and through a guide on the top of the chute to a remote point fromwhich the latch may he actuated by a pull upon the iiexible element, theguides retaining said element in close proximity to the door when thelatter l is open.

3. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chutecomprised of top, bottom and end walls, an open frame secured to thefront of the chute, a door for closing the openingin the frame, theframe having pockets at the ends of the top of said opening, guidescarried by the end walls of the chute and extending rearwardly from saidpockets, the door having trunnions which occupy the aforesaid pocketswhen the dooris in closed position, the door being adapted to be swungfrom closed position to open position and slid into the chute upon saidguides.

4. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chutecomprised of top, bottom and end walls, an open frame applied to thefront of the chute, a door for closing the opening in the frame, theframe having pockets adjacent the ends of the top of said opening,guides carried by the end walls of the chute and extending rearwardlyfrom said pockets, the door having trunnions which occupy the pocketswhen the door is in closed position, a latch plate pivotallyconnectedito the inner side of the door adjacent its lower edge which isarranged to interlock with a keeper on the frame, a guide insubstantially vertical alignment with the latch and carried by the topedge of the door, and a exible element connected to the latch plate andextended through said guides to a remote point from where the latch maybe released by a pull exerted upon the flexible element.

5. ln a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chutecomprised of top, bottom and end walls, an open frame applied to thefront of the chute, a door for closing the opening in the frame, theframe having pockets adjacent the ends of the top of said opening,guides carried by the end walls of the chute and extending rearwardlyfrom said pockets, the door having trunnions which occupy the pocketswhen the door is in closed position, a latch plate pivotally conected tothe inner side of the door adjacent its lower edge which is arranged tointerlock with a keeper on the frame, a guide in substantially verticalalignment with the latch and carried by the top edge of the door, asecond guide carried by the top wall of the chute, and a flexibleelement connected to the latch plate and extended through said guides toa remote point from where the latch may be released by a pull exertedupon the flexible element.

6. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chute, adoor for closing the front of the chute andhaving such connectiontherewith as will permit the door to be swung from closed position to asubstantially horizontal open position and slid into the chute, ahopper, links connecting the front portion of the hopper with the frontof the chute so that said .hopper may be swung from a position insidethe chute to a position wherein it projects from the chute, meanscarried by the hopper for cooperation with a part of the chute for hold*ing the hopper in the latter position, the hopper, when said means isreleased, tending to swing to a position within the chute, the aforesaidlinks being arranged to be engaged by the door during the closing of thelatter so as to move the hopper further into the chute.

7. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chute, adoor for closing the front of the chute and connected with the chute soas to be swung from closed position to open position and slid into thechute, a hop-per, links connecting the lower front portion of the hopperto the upper front portion of the chute whereby the hopper may be movedfrom a position within the chute to a second position wherein the hopperprojects partially out through the front of the chute, the hopper havingparts interengaging with parts of the chute for maintaining the hopperin its outer position.

8. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a chutecomprising top, bottom and end walls, guides supported in opposedrelation to each other by the end walls of the chute and having pocketsadjacent the forward ends of the guides, a door arranged to close themouth of the chute and havingtrunnions reposing within said pockets andwhereon the door is adapted to swing from closed to open position andslid along said guides to a position within the chute, a hoppercomprised of bottom and end walls, links arranged one at each lill endof the hopper` means pivotally connecting the lower ends of Vthe linksto the lower front corners of the end walls of the hopper, further meanssimilarly connecting the upper ends of the links to portions of thechute, the hopper being movable from a posit-ion inside the chute to aposition wherein the hopper projects out through the front of the chute,and means carried by the bottom wall of the hopper for cooperation withthe bottom portion of the chute for holding the hopper in its outerposition..

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aifix my signature.

JOHN E. MCMINN.

